Circular loom for weaving a number of separate fabrics simultaneously



Cot. 1,1963

Filed March 29. 1961 J. c. BORRELL 3,105,523 CIRCULAR LOOM FOR WEAVING A NUMBER OF SEPARATE FABRICS SIMULTANEOUSLY I 2 Sheets-She et 1 INVENTOR. Jam/w 51/ 51115 17mm Oct. 1, 1963 J. c. BORRELL 3,105,523 v CIRCULAR LOOM FOR WEAVING A NUMBER OF SEPARATE FABRICS SIMULTANEOUSLY FiledMarch 29, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,165,523 CERCULAR LUGM FUR WEAVING A NUMBER 6F SEPARATE FABRTC SIMULTANEGUSLY .loatguin Capellas Borreli, Plaza Clave 45, Sahadell, Barcelona, Spain Filed Mar. 29, 1961, Ser. No. 9?,384 Claims priority, application Spain Apr. 28, 196i) 1 Claim. ((31. 139-13) This invention relates to circular looms for weaving a number of separate fabrics simultaneously.

According to the invention the loom comprises a num ber of feed stations located around a central axis and having bases forming a regular polygon and adapted to weave vertically and in arcuate form corresponding fabrics which in cross-section combine to form a circumference, and to wind the finished fabrics separately and in rectilinear form on to several separate cloth beams.

According to a feature of the invention the loom has at each feed station a warp 'beam placed horizontally in the lower part of the loom, respective sets of healds and reed placed horizontally and forming an arc and adapted to open the shed for the passage of an element introducing the weft yarn between the warp yarns, a slay which applies vertical pressure to the weft yarn at required times to form the fabric, a stationary weft supply reel disposed at one end of the respective reed-and-healds set, and a cloth beam disposed in the upper part of the machine, there also being provided one or more weft-introducing or weft-passing elements which are adapted to rotate around the central axis of the machine and which operate serially in the various feed stations.

v The weft-introducing or wef -carrying elements, which can be operated by permanent magnets, electrom-agnets or mechanical means rotatable around the machine central axis, are adapted to catch, by means of grippers or the like when they penetrate into each feed station, the end of the weft yarn at such station, to pull such end through the warp to the other end thereof, and to release such end at the end of the warp, thereafter to catch the weft of the next feed station, and so on consecutively.

The rotation of the weft-passing element or elements is synchronized with the rise and descent of the slay so that beating-up is performed with a reciprocating vertical motion immediately after a weft yarn has been introduced into the respective shed.

According to another feature of the invention, each feed station has means for severing and retaining the weft yarn, in the form of a stationary suction tube disposed below the beginning of each shed and adapted to retain the end of the Weft yarn in a vertical position by suction, and grippers disposed upon a sliding guide adapted to be raised and lowered and controllable by an eccentric ring which rotates around the machine central axis, and for their operation they are associated with an electromagnet, the whole being so arranged that, when the weft carrier passes by the beginning of each feed station, being drawn along by the associated electromagnet or other means which also rotates around the machine central axis, such carrier catches in its grippers the weft yarn end retained by suction and carries such yarn end through the shed and when the weft carrier reaches the termination of the shed, at which time the grippers have reached their lowest position level with the plane of the reed with the wet thread received in their mouthpiece, an electric contactor operates the eleetromagnet associated with the grippers to close the same so that the weft yarn is retained thereby and has its other end released from the grippers of the Weft carrier, whereafter the slay starts to rise to beat-up the pick just laid, this rising movement of the slay being followed by the grippers retaining the weft yarn, the same engaging, at the termination of the rising movement, with scribed hereinafter.

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a blade which severs the weft yarn, so that the pickforrning yarn is separated from the rest of the weft yarn coming off the reel, and once beating-up is completed, the switch associated with the electromagnet for the grippers dc-energizes such electromagnet so that the lastmentioned grippers open and the weft-yarn end issuing from the reel is drawn towards the mouth of the suction tube and takes up a position in which it can be caught by the grippers of the weft yarn carrier at the start of the next pick.

The pay-01f and take-up mechanisms can be of conventional kind used in ordinary looms having only one feed station.

For a better understanding of the invention a loom according to the invention, for weaving four separate fabrics simultaneously, will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 7

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of the loom,

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the device in FIG. 1 in which parts have been broken away,

FIGURE 3 illustrates a part of the plan view shown in FIGURE 2 but to an enlarged scale, and

FIGURE 4 is a vertical section taken along the line A-B of FIGURE 3.

Warp yarns are wound on a number of warp beams 1 (FIGURES l and 2) placed in the lower part of the machine, each beam being associated with a feed station. The beams are arranged to cooperatively define a regular polygon. In FTGURE 2 the polygon is a square, however, the number of sides can vary with the number of fabrics which it is required to weave simultaneously. The warp pay-oil mechanisms can be of conventional type, the guide rollers thereof having the reference numeral 2 in FIGURE 1.

The shed is opened by healds 3 which are of arcuate shape and which are horizontally reciprocable and synchronized so that, when two opposite healds 3 move, the other two remain stationary, the shed being open for the weft carrier to pass through. The weft is disposed on a number of reels '6 at the entry of each feed station, the weft end being retained by retaining means to be de- Slays 4 which together vform a ring but which are independent of one another each have a reed 5 of arcuate shape for beating-up the weft yarn. Two weft yarn carriers 7 are moved by two electromagnets 8 rotatable around the central axis of the machine to move continuously in a circle. The weft carriers 7 have gripping means including grippers 14 which engage the end of the weft yarn 11 when the carriers 7 enter a feed station and draw the end of the weft through the shed formed by the warp yarns 'as said carrier 7 passes through the feed station. The weft yarn 11 is unwound from the reel 6 and passes through yarn guides 12 and yarn tension devices and is retained in a vertical position by a suction tube 13. While the weft yarn is passing through the shed, the grippers 15, 15 disposed on a sliding guide 16 controlled by an eccentric ring 1-7 which causes the guide 16 to rise and fall a predetermined manner, descend as far as the plane of the reed 5, the weft yarn remaining inside the mouthpiece of the grippers 15, 15'. When the weft yarn end pulled along by the grippers 14 of the carrier 7 reaches the termination of the cloth to be woven, an electric contactor (not shown) operates the electro-magnet 18 to close the grippers 15, 15 so that the weft yarn is retained thereby, the other end of the weft yarn disengaging from the grippers 14- of the yarn carrier 7. The slay 4 then star-ts to rise to beat-up the pick laid through the previously traversed station, the grippers 15, 15 following this rising movement. The weft yarn retained by the grippers 15, 15', when the same terminate their rising beating-up movement, engage with a blade 19 which severs the weft yarn so that the yarn forming the pick is separated from the remainder of the Weft yarn coming off the reel 6. After heating-up, the aforesaid switch de-energizes the electromagnet 18 and the grippers 15, 15' open, releasing the Weft yarn end coming ed the reel 6. Such end is immediateiy drawn into the mouthpiece of the suction tube 13 and takes up a position where it can be caught by the grippers 14 of the weft carrier 7 for the next pick, for a continuation of the operation.

Once Woven, the cloth passes over a surface roller 9 to be Wound on to the cloth beam 1%} of the respective feed station. The surface roller 9 and cloth beam lit are disposed in the upper part of the machine and are placed horizontally.

The movement cycle of the loom is as follows:

While the yarn-carrying element is passing through the shed at one feed station, the associated slay and healds are stationary, the slay being in its bottom position and the healds being in the open-shed position; in the next feed station the slay is performing its beating-up movement and the healds are changing the shed to terminate the same before the weft carrier starts to enter. When the weft yarn carriers are disposed as in the example hereinbe-fore descnibed, two opposite feed stations always perform the same movements. The number of yarn carriers can vary with the number of cloths which it is required to weave simultaneously.

The machine hereinbefore described has the following main advantages:

It has a greater output than conventional looms; it obviates the conventional shuttle and thus converts the loom into a continuous weaving machine; it reduces yarn break-ages by reducing the shed opening height; it ohviates the use of cops, since the weft yarn is taken off reels which last for a long time; and the various cloths woven simultaneously may or may not be identical, as required.

What I claim is:

A circular loom for weaving a number of separate fabrics, said loom being provided with a number of feed stations arranged around a central axis, each feed station having a supply of warp yarn and a supply of weft yarn, said loom comprising means at each feed station for severin and retaining Weft yarn and including a suction tube adapted to retain the end of weft yarn in a vertical position by suction, a sliding guide adapted to "be raised and lowered, and grippers on said sliding guide for being raised and lowered therewith; an eccentric ring adapted to rotate around said central axis and cooperate with the sliding guide at each of said stations to raise and lower the same, an electromaignet operatively associated with the grippers at each station to open and close the same, a weft carrier adapted to rotate about said central axis and through each of said feed stations, said weft carrier including gripper means for engaging the weft yarn end which is retained in the suction tube at each feed station to carry the yarn end through the warp yarn at the corresponding station, rneans for opening the gripper means to release the weft yarn end when said Weft carrier has traversed each feeding station, each said electroinagnet being operative to close the respective grippers to engage weft yarn upon release of the end of the Weft yarn by the gripping means after the weft carrier has traversed the respective feed station, a slay at each station adapted to rise to beat-up the Weft yarn after the latter has been drawn through the Warp yarn, each said sliding guide and the grippers therewith being raised by the eccentric ring concurrently with the associated slay, said means for severing the weft yarn at each station including a blade operatively associated with the grippers at the respective station, to sever the weft yarn thereat which is retaine by the grippers as the latter rise with the sliding guide whereby the weft yarn at each feed station is freed from the weft supply there-at, the electnomagnet at each feed station being operative to open the corresponding grippers upon completion of beating-up of the Weft yarnwhereupon the weft yarn end is drawn by suction towards thecorresponding suction tube to assume a position Whereat the gripping means of the weft yarn carrier can engage the weft yarn end when the weft yarn carrier again enters each feeding station.

References (liter! in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS 

